Baca, Bernard O. – ww2 Pacific

Rank and Name, Private Bernard O. Baca.

Unit/Placed in, 31^st Infantry Regiment, United States Army.

Camp#8 Bachrach, Manila

The POW Camp was inhabited and also used as a Labor camp to repaired trucks, cars, etc. The Camp was created in early 1943 and was active to early October, 1944. When it became clear to the Japanese that the Americans were about to invade the Philippines, the POWs were marched to the Port Area of Manila and boarded onto the Arisan Maru, Its presumed of this files that there are no survivors. There is a list presend from the about 86 men that were at the Camp and is available true Jim Opolony-Faculty Advisor for Proviso School Bataan Project (192nd Tank Battalion).

Arisan Maru

The Arisan Maru was a Hell Ships (former Cargo, used for Transport POW’s to other Camps) sunk on Nov. 24, 1944.

The Arisan Maru, sailed from Manila on October 11, 1944 for Japan. This ship was sunk by the American submarine, USS Shark with three torpedoes, on November 24, 1944. There were 1800 POWs aboard – nine men survived this sinking. Two days later, five of the survivors were rescued by a Chinese fishing junk. The Chinese helped them reach American Air Corps forces. Other survivors were recaptured by a Japanese destroyer and taken to Formosa.

This Hell Ship sank in the South China Sea making it the worst naval disaster in the history of the United States.

Bernard is born approx. on 1922 in California.

Parents and Siblings, No Record Available.

Bernard enlisted the service in California with service number # 19056993.

Bernard was KIA when he tried to escape from the Torpedoed Arisan Maru, he got shot by the Japanese Guards on 24 Sep. 1944, he is honored with a Bronze Star Medal, POW Medal, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal.

Bernard is buried/mentioned at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Walls of the missing.

Thanks to, http://www.mansell.com

Jean Louis Vijgen, WW2-Pacific Website.

Air Force Info, Rolland Swank.

ABMC Website, https://abmc.gov

Marines Info, https://missingmarines.com/ Geoffrey Roecker

Seabees History Bob Smith https://seabeehf.org/

Navy Info, http://navylog.navymemorial.org

POW Info, http://www.mansell.com Dwight Rider and Wes injerd.

Philippine Info, http://www.philippine-scouts.org/ Robert Capistrano

National Historian